After an amazing summer with our friends and family in Washington, we boarded our airplane at the Bellingham Airport anticipating our next adventure. For 36 hours of travel, the kids did amazingly well - partly due to the business class that our new school flew us over in, and part because of the earplugs that we brought. We also afforded ourselves a few "cold ones" in anticipation of our new completely dry country!
At our layover in Frankfurt, Germany we identified and became aquainted with a few other teachers on their way to Saudi Arabia. It was relieving seeing other families with young kids with whom our kids quickly took to. After a touch down in Kuwait to let a few people off the airplane, we noticed that several women on the plane were scurrying to the bathrooms and putting on black abayas. Marea took out her long pants and long-sleeved shirt and put them on in order to disuade any unneeded attention. If it wasn't for Avery's "beautiful" and ear-piercing "songs", we would have succeeded. Never-the-less, we were impressed when they allowed the families to the front of the line at customs as they checked our visas. We were slightly worried going through customs with all of our bags after hearing crazy stories of large fines, confiscations, and other intense scrutinies, but we made it through the line with ease. Waiting on the other side of the gate, the superintendent, principal, and two teachers were waiting for us with cheery faces that were fighting back yawns from our 1am arrival.
We were immediately escorted to a special room in which we interviewed with a Saudi Arabian man working for the company who took our passports and gave us a few strict instructions about what to do the next few days. After all families had completed this process, we all boarded a large bus and began the 1 hour ride to Ras Tanura. We anticipated it being extremely hot when we arrived, however, we were pleasantly surprised that the weather felt about the same as it was in China during the summer months.
After two checkpoints, we entered our compound (3500 people - I would guess the size of Blaine) and our principal pointed out landmarks including the post office, grocery store, mechanic, ballfields, schools, and beach. It was dark, but the well-lit streets allowed us to get a feel for what the community looked like - we compare it to a resort community with south-western US flare and huge palm trees and other vegetation.
As we dropped off other families, we finally came to our house - a 2100 sq.ft. townhouse with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, a garage, and yard. This, by far, is the nicest place we have ever lived. We are humbled and thankful for this new place. It didn't take long for our kids to race around and explore the house, while staking claim on bedrooms. Temporary furniture has been provided for us until our shipments arrive (from China, from home, and a few "e-boxes" flying in three+ weeks after us).
After unpacking a few items, we all collapsed on our beds and Marea and I said a prayer of thanks for our outstanding past and our new beginnings.
